


Tactile Reassurance

by Fairfaxleasee



Series: Fenris/Cassia [16]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Blind Date, Claiming Bites, F/M, Love Bites, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29892237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairfaxleasee/pseuds/Fairfaxleasee
Summary: As Viscount Cassia Hawke finishes preparing for a marriage interview she has no desire to attend, Fenris reminds her what they can look forward to once it's over.
Relationships: Fenris/Female Hawke, Fenris/Hawke (Dragon Age)
Series: Fenris/Cassia [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2141970
Kudos: 5





	Tactile Reassurance

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt me on Tumblr https://fairfaxleasee.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thanks to @blondetexan and @xqueen0fhellx for betaing

“You always look beautiful. Tonight you look divine.”

Cassia Hawke caught Fenris’ eyes in the mirror of her vanity (because of  _ course _ the stupid piece of furniture was called that). She wanted to turn around and, if not look  _ at _ him (she could never look  _ at  _ him, or anyone, very long), then at least look towards him, but Orana was trying to affix the crystal crown she liked to her head. Apparently Cass’ idea of ‘I’ll just shove the fucking thing on and be done with it’ hadn’t been a satisfactory solution to the woman. She settled for smiling at Fenris’ reflection in the mirror before she turned her eyes away, “I’m not sure that’s a good thing. After all, this is supposed to be for another man.”

“Hm, yes, well,” she heard his voice coming closer and felt his hand on her shoulder, “What Bran doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Fenris reached out to touch her face but he jerked his hand away before it reached her. “ _ Venhedis! _ ” he shook his hand and glared over Cass’ head.

“I  _ told _ you to stop touching her face after I put the makeup on!” Orana admonished. Cass could just see the flash of the hairpin she must have used to strike. “I’ll start bringing Dante in here if I need to!” Orana made a final adjustment to the crown before she finally released Cass’ head. “And stay out of her hair too!”

Fenris growled discontentedly at Orana before shifting his focus back to Cass. He was looking her over, obviously trying to find some way he could touch her that she wouldn’t find uncomfortable and wouldn’t risk Orana’s wrath. Cass reached up and tugged a lock of her wavy, auburn hair out from where Orana had painstakingly placed it. She felt a bit guilty, Orana obviously just wanted to make sure she was looking the way she was supposed to look, but Cass didn’t care about that if it meant she’d be facing an evening completely bereft of Fenris’ reassurances. Besides, Orana had told  _ Fenris _ to stay out of her hair; the woman had said nothing about Cass.

Fenris smiled and took the lock to twist between his fingers. Orana sighed an exasperated, “Mistress!” before leaving the vanity to set about finding Cass a pair of shoes - Squall had gotten at the ones Bran had told Cass to wear.

“Have I mentioned lately how much I do not like that man? Honestly, some days I’d swear he’s got my mother giving him pointers on how to torment me!”

“You know my offer still stands, Cass.”

“I keep telling you, Fenris - there is no plausible scenario in which Bran accidentally rips out his own heart and you just happen to find it.”

“I could push him off a balcony.”

Cass raised an eyebrow and tried not to picture that so she could keep her disappointed frown in place.

“I mean, he could accidentally fall off a balcony.”

“Well, if we could manage to shove him in that… thing he wanted me to wear tonight, he absolutely could. The skirt on it has enough fabric for about eight legitimate dresses!”

Fenris glared at the pile of assorted hosiery and accessories under which Cass had ‘lost’ the pastel pink abomination Bran had presented her that morning to wear for tonight. “Yes, one of these days I’m going to have to discuss that man’s habit of buying you clothes with him.” He turned his attention back to Cass, “But you do look utterly stunning in that dress, Cass. It’s one of my favorites.”

“Mm. I’m glad it wasn’t a total waste then.” Looking back Cass wasn’t sure why she’d had the dress made in the first place. Well, she’d had the dress made for her coronation, but she should have known no one would let her wear it. Instead of the ice blue garment with its crystal accents and gossamer pleating, she’d been forced into a banal snow white costume with pearls and gold brocade for the ceremony she hated too. It had been irreparably damaged that night. Tragic accident.

“I would never let anything so mesmerizing go to waste.”

“Heh. Are you talking about me or the dress?”

“You are no thing, Cass. But you are captivating. And I have no intention of letting you go to waste.” He leaned in to kiss her. She tilted her head slightly to meet his lips. The kiss started out gentle, but as the prospect of an evening spent as Bran tried to fob her off on a “good match” that was only going to be the first of many similar events when the man she loved, her  _ fucking fiance _ , would be forced to sit there and  _ watch _ because the best she could fucking do to keep him close was pretend he was her bodyguard slithered to the forefront of her mind she couldn’t hold back anymore - she pressed her hands against his cheeks before sliding her left to rub his ear and her right to grasp his chestplate and pull him closer to her as she sucked and nipped at his lower lip.

She thought she felt him huff a laugh against her needy lips. He pressed against her. She felt him trace an armored finger up her neck and-

“Mistress!  _ FENRIS! _ ” Orana’s horrified, if slightly resigned, cry brought Cass crashing back to the present.

She surrendered his lips and ear but kept her hold on his armor as long as she could until Orana arrived to survey the damage. Her servant pushed herself between them and dropped a pair of simple, black flats into Cass’ hands. Cass lifted her feet to put them on as Orana fixed the makeup Cass hadn’t wanted to put on in the first fucking place. 

Orana stayed close once she was done but Cass decided to ignore her and pout at Fenris. “Do we even know who this idiot I’m supposed to meet tonight is?”

“I’m fairly certain Bran said at some point, but I didn’t think it was worth remembering,” he smiled down at her.

She smiled back before her face fell and her eyes found a corner, “I’m sorry you have to do this. I wish I could figure out a way to - to just make people leave us alone, but…” She shook her head. Societal machinations had never been her forte, and with everything else on her plate, the best she’d been able to do was the bodyguard cover that she  _ hated _ having to keep up.

She caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. Based on the sharp intake of air she heard from Fenris, she surmised it was caused by him trying to reach out for her again and Orana lashing out with something sharp to prevent him actually touching her this time. She looked back towards Fenris.

“I know you do, Cass. And I have every confidence you’ll come up with something brilliant in the end. But you don’t need to worry about me. I can always amuse myself with the knowledge that no matter how ‘accomplished’ these men Bran has you dressing up for are, I’m the one who gets to undress you at the end of the night.”

She laughed and found his eyes to respond, but the door to the dressing room being shoved open cut her off. 

“Come  _ along _ , Hawke, Fergus Cousland is here and -” she rolled her eyes and eventually deigned to loll her head towards Bran to give him a deadpan glare in time to hear his shrill protest, “That is  _ not _ the dress I told you to wear!”

“Sorry, Bran. I couldn’t find it to give to Orana when it was time to get dressed.”

The Seneschal narrowed his eyes at her, “Do you think you’re fooling me, Hawke?”

“It’s the truth, Bran. But, if you’ve decided we can keep this Fergus Cousland person waiting, I’m perfectly happy to go back to looking for the dress, take this one off, put that one on, fix my hair and makeup, find a new pair of shoes that would-”

“Alright,  _ alright _ ! Just get downstairs, and for the love of the  _ Maker _ , actually manage to pretend to be normal for one blighted evening!” He turned and left muttering something about how he wished Cass’ mother were alive to keep her in line.

Fenris glared at the door, “If I hurry I can catch him by the balcony, Cass.”

She held out her hands to him and he took them so he could pull her to her feet. “I don’t want you to waste your time with him when you could be spending it with me.”

“Hm. When you put it like that…” he leaned in to kiss her again.

“ _ Fenris! I mean it about Dante! _ ”

Fenris glowered behind Cass, “Damn cat-thing.” He shifted his focus back to Cass and his mouth curved into the grin that usually boded ill for whatever Cass happened to be wearing at the time.

“Fenris, I  _ like _ this dress-”

“As do I. I just want to give you something so we can both remember I’ll be taking it off.”

He moved behind her and unbuttoned the top two buttons on the collar of her dress. He pulled the slightly translucent gossamer away from her neck and pressed his lips against the flesh he’d just exposed.

“Mm!” she let out an excited moan at the contact. She felt his lips shift into the grin again before he lifted them away for a moment so he could open his mouth and press his teeth into her. “Ah!” 

He laughed against her skin and bit down just a bit harder as he sucked at her neck for a few seconds before releasing her. He began to button the dress back up but she reached up to grab his wrist and stop him.

“No, leave it for now.”

“Cass?”

“You know Bran, if he doesn’t find something wrong with my outfit when I get down there, he’ll make something up. This way it’ll be easy for him to find something to complain about.”

“Hm, I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with.”

She glanced at Fenris over her shoulder, “Well, then you can tell me all about it because I intend to ignore him completely.”

He grinned back at her, “It’s really too bad for the man you won’t just let me throw him off a balcony.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
